Swimming pools are generally filtered by a two levels filtration system. The first level is a skimmer assembly which removes the largest debris such as pine cones, leaves, fruits, large bugs and the like which have fallen into the water. The water exiting the skimmer assembly is generally pumped to the second finer filtration level. This second filter is generally a sand filter that removes the finest debris which have passed through the skimmer.
Skimmer assemblies are generally known in the art. These skimmers generally comprise a cylindrical enclosure mounted to the wall of the pool. The enclosure comprises an inlet opening and a flow control door through which the water can enter the skimmer. Inside the skimmer, there is found a basket comprising a plurality of apertures. The apertures are designed to allow the passage of the water but to block the passage of the largest debris, effectively skimming the water. However, overtime, the basket may become clogged with debris and hinder the passage of the water which may affect some components of the second stage of filtration such as the pump.
The basket of these skimmers therefore needs to be emptied regularly by the owner of the pool. This is a tedious chore and prone to being forgot from time to time.
There exist, in the prior art, systems to automatically skim and remove the debris from the water. One of theses systems can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,290 granted to Butcher et al. In the patent of Butcher et al., the skimmer cleaner comprises a separate conveyor belt assembly which has a portion immersed in water while the other portion is outside of the water. The conveyor assembly, mounted at an angle, is arranged to that the debris going to the top of the assembly will fall away from the skimmer, preferably in a receptacle. The problem with the skimmer cleaner of Butcher et al. is the fact that the conveyor assembly extends above of the skimmer. Without altering the functionality of the system, the skimmer cleaner of Butcher et al. is aesthetically unpleasant, bulky and may be difficult to install. Also because of its design limitations, the belt angle is too steep to be effective with larger debris.
In today's world where aesthetic is almost as important as functionality, there is a need for a debris removing skimmer for use with a swimming pool which is compact, effective and preferably discrete.